Before the Beginning
by Gothguy
Summary: I suck at summaries, but here goes. Raven Roth is an exchange student from Europe, Garfield Logan is your typical underachiever, Victor Stone is your typical AllStar, Dick Grayson is your typical preppy lone wolf, and Kori Anders is the typical strange ex
1. Chapter 1

Before The Beginning

Summary: I suck at summaries, but here goes. Raven Roth is an exchange student from Europe, Garfield Logan is your typical underachiever, Victor Stone is your typical All-Star, Dick Grayson is your typical preppy lone wolf, and Kori Anders is the typical strange exchange student. Or so they were. After some strange twists of events and revelations of someone's innermost secrets, their lives will all be changed forever. (If you couldn't guess it, this is a possibility on how they became Titans.)

-There may be possible pairing, but that depends on what the reviewers feel they should be.(except Robin x Starfire; bear in mind I'm trying to be somewhat realistic while writing; although between me and you, If I get enough reviews I might overlook the whole RxS idea when it comes up later;)

I'm still unclear about the potential rating; so I'll rate this T. That being said, chapter 1 will be kinda short, still learning the system.

Chapter 1

Raven Roth stared up at the obviously old three story building in front of her. It had smaller buildings leading from it and she could see the stadium from the parking lot. She'd arrived almost a half hour early, so there were few people there. _Why me?_ She thought to herself. She made her way across the parking lot and up the stairs leading to the school's entrance. She paused before the doors and took a deep, calming breath before going in.

Raven looked around at her surroundings, a little disgusted. The walls were painted white and baby blue and just above the doors leading to the main hallway was a banner with the same colors and a crest withthe letters JCHS in yellow that said Welcome to Jump City High School, Home of the Hornets. Raven sighed and rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed by the colorful display. _Great, I've been enrolled in Sunshine High School,_ she muttered as she walked across the lobby and through the doors leading to the main halls. There was a small sign on the wall that read** MAIN OFFICE **and pointed to a hall leading to the right.

In the office, things seemed to be rather hectic. counsellors and assistants were running every which way, trying to prepare for the inevitable influx of students due to arrive. "Excuse me" she said in a calm, monotonic way. The people continued their own crazed directions. _OK_, she thought. Again she called out. "Excuse me, I need my schedule." Still, noone payed her any mind. _That's it,_ she yelled in her head. The air around her began to grow hot and prickly and just as she was about to yell... "I'll get that for you."

She turned around to see a guy standing there with brown and blond spiked hairand a clipboard smiling, obviously amused.He jumped behind the desk. Noone seemed to notice he was even there. "Name Please"

"Raven Roth"

"Nice," He smiled at her and she tried to force the building warmth out of her cheeks. He looked back down to the computer."Ah, here it is." He printed off twosheets of paper and handed her one before jumping back across the desk anddashing out the door. She picked up her backpack and walked out the office to find her first class.

Walking down the hall, she took the chance to glance at her schedule. _What Joy this'll be_, she thought sarcastically to herself as she climbed the nearest flight of stairs. On the top floor, she noticed the large window that looked out over the parking lot. Still noone there. She walked slowly down the hall until she came to a door with a sign above it reading **English II** and walked in. She looked around.The wall was lined with windows and all the desks sat lined up in rows facing the teacher's desk. But, noone there. She walked toa desk in theback corner of the room nearest the window. She sat her backpack down and pulled out a small black mp3 player.She put on a pair ofheadphones and pulled out a small dark blue, thin, hardbacked book with a raven on the cover. She turned to an empty page and pushed play on the mp3 player. She began scrawling out poetry as Marilyn Manson's Mobscene blasted into her ears. _Guess I'll just do this while I wait for class_, she thought while writing in comforting emptiness of the classroom.

**End Chapter 1**

Sorry this chapter is so short, but it's about 3:00 A.M. here.

Anyway, I'll be glad for any reviews I recieve. Gotta flame? Keep it to yourself. I don't have time for non-constructive criticism. Flames are merely animmature way to complain because you don't get your way. Also any questions or reviews( if not all, then most) will be answered in the beginning of the next chapter. L8r


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, now I'm wide awake, or as awake as we as humans can be while living. So here is chapter two. I'll try to update regularly; can't make any promises though. I'm applying to an early entry writing program held at the state college. Well now that's out of the way...on to my reviewers.**

**the-inanimate-living: Love the name first of all. Thanks for the encouragement and I agree. Just wanted an opinion before getting started.**

**KG20: First, thanks for reading(even if it was just the first chapter). More importantly, you are absolutely right.**

**Both: You are both greatly appreciated and I will take your opinions to heart(black as it is). I just have to figure out how to write those things in while still being subtle. I'm not good with romance and relationshipsshivers and gags slightly**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Jack. 'Course why would I want to? Who is Jack and why do they say that?Do we really own anything? Oh, right. I don't own Teen Titans, so stop asking!**

**Chapter Two**

Students were flooding onto the campus as cars and buses pulled into the parking lot, releasing more of their raucus cargo. Victor Stone stood next to the flagpole, looking anxiously from is watch to the mass of students now swarming the campus. "What could be taking him so long? I told him he should have just rode with me. If we're late, I'm not getting blamed for his-" He hadn't even finished his sentence when he saw his friend running up the sidewalk, looking completely bedraggledand slightly out of breath. Victor ran up to him, a slight hint of concernshowing on his face.

"What happened?" Victor asked as he met Garfield halfway. Garfield stopped walking and took a deep breath before speaking."I decided to cut through the park, cause you know, it's faster. And" He took another deep breath before continuing. " I was about half way through and out of nowhere, these dogs showed up and started chasin' me." He tried to return his breathing to normal. Victor calmed down and stood up straight. Garfield had finally managed to catch his breath and was fixing his clothes. They began to walk towards the school. Victor sighed." Man, Garfield, You're really out of shape. You should really work out-" Victor came to a sudden realization and looked at his friend, confusion visible on his face. "Um, Garfield...Where is your bike?" Garfield stopped and looked up at Victor, His face reddening slightly." I, um, forgot it in the park." Victor stopped and stared at his friend. His face began to contort slightly and tears started to well up in his eyes. Garfield's face reddened more. Victor burst into a fit of maniacal laughter, tears streaming from his eyes. After a few minutes, he straightened up and wiped the tears from his face. He tried to catch his breath. " Man, Garfield, You are somethin'. What? I don't know, but it's somethin."

" Hey! They were really big dogs!" Garfield huffed as he crossed his arms as they made their way up the stairs. Victor suppressed another fit of laughter as he tried to speak." Garfield, did you ever think that maybe, somehow you could speed up on the bike to get away?" Garfield stared straight ahead as he spoke. " I saw the dogs and I just ran. they looked rabid and I didn't think about the bike." Victor started laughing again. "Dude! Just drop it. It's not that funny." Victor stopped laughing. " I don't know, Garfield, maybe they thought you were a stick and wanted to play fetch." Garfield had always been short for his age, whereas Victorhad a more musclebound and athletic disposition. He always wore his hair in blond spikes, although his skinseemed to be getting darker lately.Garfield frowned. " Dude, that is so not funny. And another thing. Don't call me Garfield. In school, it's Gar. It sounds way cooler."

They quickly crossed the school lobby and made their way to the main office. Garfield had just noticed they weren't following their usual route to the commons."Uh, Vic, Where are we going?" They stopped in front of the attendance office. "Come on, Let's get our schedules before we go. Make it easier to get around." They both walked in and were greeted by a short dark-skinned girl in a black and yellow striped t-shirt and a yellow skirt. " Hey, Vic, who's your friend?" Victor smiled and pointed a thumb at Gar. "Hey, Bee, This is my friend Garf-" Garfield elbowed him in the side. Victor looked at him and rolled his eyes." This is my friend Gar. He's staying with my folks this year while his parents are in Africa." Bee laughed lightly before speaking." So, Guess you two want your class schedules?" Vic nodded and said in his suavist voice, "Yes, that would be nice." She laughed lightly and walked behind the desk to print their schedules. Gar watched the scene before him and tried to stifle a laugh. She handed them their schedules and smiled again at Vic before saying,"Bye, Vic. See you later." Vic replied on the way out, " Right you are." and smiled as he shut the door behind him.

Once they were out of earshot of the office, Gar spoke up. "Dude, You didn't want to go in there to get your schedule, you went so you could talk to her. And what did she mean 'See you later'?" Vic was silent as he kept a walking. Gar frowned " Dude! Come on! Tell me!" Victor sighed " Because. I'm droppin her off at her house on my way home...And speakin of which, since you lost your bike, you have to ride home with me too now." Garfield shook his head manically. " No way dude! Your 'driving' is the reason I took my bike. You drive like a maniac!" Victor decided to change the subject. " So what's your first period?" he asked. Gar looked down at his schedule and slumped his shoulders. "English II, just great, another year of essays.Just what I need." Vic tried to cheer him up. " Well, actually, Mr. Busby is a pretty good teacher and English II isn't essays, It's poetry."

They began to make their way up the stairs. Gar tripped over something and almost fell back down the stairs. He looked to see what it was and saw a guy sitting on one of the stairs."Hey, watch it you little pusswad." He had brown and blond spikes in his hair and wore a black jeans with a chain and ared leather strip going down one of the legs , a black skull and crossbones shirt and a black leather jacket. It wasn't so much the clothing that Gar noticed so much as his eyes. They were red and looked like a cat's eyes. Gar didn't notice he was staring at the guy. Vic had already made it to the top floor and turned back to notice Gar exchanging wordsa guy sitting on the stairs. Vic strained his eyes to see who it was. _Oh, no. better get Gar before he gets himself into trouble_. He thought. The guy started to get up. "Hey, Gar! Hurry up, teacher's waitin" he yelled. The guy looked up at Vic and sat back down. Gar sprinted up the stairs. When he reached the top he stopped next to Vic to take a breath. When he had recovered, they began to walk again. At that moment, the bell rang."Vic, who was that guy?" Vic stopped and Gar almost walked into him. "That was X. You need to stay away from him." Gar looked back at the stairs and then at Vic."Why?" Vic sighed and held his hand to his temple as if he had a migraine. "Because rumor has it he's a vampire."

Gar began to laugh."Now who's the crazy one. Vampires!" Vic put his hands on Gar's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes, no sign of humor in is face."You know those bodies they keep findin at the lake. The ones found without a drop of blood in their bodies?" Gar nodded. "They say it was him. Regardless, the guy is bad news. So stay away from him. Got it?" He asked seriously. Gar nodded. Vic's face resumed it's previous smile."Good here's the class." He motioned to the door behind him. Gar had been so wrapped up in the story, he hadn't even noticed it. He walked in. There was a girl sitting in the very corner of the room. Gar stared for a moment, almost captivated by some unseen force that seemed to hover about her. Vic tapped him on the shoulder. He shook his head as if trying wake up from a dream. He turned toward Vic."I said 'Where do you wanna sit?

He motioned towards the corner with the girl. Vic shook his head. Gar was still looking in her direction."Gar, this wouldn't have anything to do with the girl sitting there, would it?" he asked. Gar turned to face Vic, a look of surprise on his face."What! No!" He looked back at the girl and started to walk in her direction. "This won't end well." Vic muttered under his breath as he began to move in the direction Gar had. He walked back to the corner. Gar had taken the seat right next to the girl. Gar dropped his backpack on the floor next to his desk and looked back up at the girl. He held his hand out towards her. Vic shook his head. "Gar, no. Leave her alone." He made a wide smile at Vic. "Sure. Right after I introduce myself." He held out a hand towards her again and smiled. " Hi! I'm Gar! What's your name?"

The girl looked up. Gar went wide-eyed. She had shoulder length hair that was so black, it looked purple. And her eyes... were those Purple? Gar felt like he was in a waking dream. She seemed to be surrounded by a bright light and had this aura about her that made Gar feel as if he were somewhere else all together and it was just the two of them.She took out her headphones.

**Well that's chapter two. Too short? Too long? Just let me know in your review and I'll make sure to reply in my next chapter. Whether your review is good or you found something wrong, I wanna know what my readers think.****As usual, no flames. They are immature, useless,and are not helpfull in the slightest. I'm open to any ideas anyone might have in the pairings department. Like I said, I'm only fifteen and I don't know a thing about relationships or love as I've never experienced them first hand. Thanks to my friend Marcus for the advice with Gar and Raven(even though you don't know you helped).**

-L8r


	3. Chapter 3

Well, my parents are out of town for the week, so I decided to skip school for the day. Not like it matters anyway. I'm hardly ever in class, but I always have a 4.0, so noone can complain. So first reviewer replies then story.

Maddie: Sorry, didn't notice the text had bunched up like that and I promise this chapter will be longer.

Starwonder09: I notice that another reviewer said that same thing. Well, regardless, I agree. I just have to work it in.

Well, I'm boring you so on to chapter three.

Chapter 3

Raven hadn't even noticed the students had come in. A hand appeared in her range of sight. She looked up from her book. A short, thin boy with blond spiked hair, green eyes, and an unusual tan was smiling at her. Raven took out her headphones. "What?" She asked monotonously. Gar cringed slightly, but tried to continue smiling. "Hi. I'm Gar and this is Vic." He pointed at the dark skinned boy sitting in front of her. He was tall and muscle bound with blue eyes. He smiled at her and turned back to face the front. Gar extended his hand again. Raven frowned. "Do I look like I want to talk?" she asked, a hint of irritation in her voice.

That was the first time Gar had paid any attention to her attire. She was wearing black jeans with a short sleeved black fishnet shirt and a dark blue t-shirt with a skull underneath. Her skin was a pale grey, despite the fact that she was sitting in the direct sunlight. He looked at her eyes, a deep amethyst, and found himself unable to look away. It was as if he'd been entranced by them and were falling into their very depths. "Well!" Raven said, growling the word at him. Gar snapped back.

At that moment the teacher walked in. He was tall and thin with bright brown skin and looked as if he were better suited as a college proffesor than a high school english teacher. He wore a white turtleneck with a blue blazer and khakis."Good morning class, I'm Mr. Busby. This is English II and I will be your instructor for the year." He wrote his name on the board and turned back towards the class. "It appears we have two new students joining us this year." He extended a hand toward the door and motioned the student to enter. A girl walked in and stood next to him, nervously looking at the class. She was about Raven's height with long fire red hair and her skin was tanned to a dull orange. She wore a pink skirt with a pink and white striped midriff shirt and pink knee high boots.

"Class, may I introduce you to Ms. Kori Anders." A couple of boys in the class began to whistle and howl. Mr. Busby motioned them to quiet down. When they quieted, he continued. "And Ms. Raven Roth." He pointed to the corner where Raven was sitting and the class turned to face her. "Ms. Roth, would you come to the front of the class please?" Raven looked down at her desk."I'd rather not." He frowned momentarily, but began to smile once more at Kori. "Ms. Anders, please tell the class a little about yourself." The girl looked up. She spoke nervously, her voice slightly shaky. "Hello, my name is Kori and my favorite color is pink and I love to sing." Mr. Busby nodded approvingly.

"And Ms. Roth? Would you like to say a few words to the class before we begin?" She looked out the window momentarily and back to him. "No." she replied simply. Mr. Busby frowned. "Well, Ms. Roth, would you tell us who your favorite poet is?" Raven sighed and rolled her eyes."Yeats." she finally answered. Mr. Busby smiled. "A good choice, altough his poetry is a little _sinister_ for my tastes. And Your favorite poem?" Raven frowned, obviously irritated by his barrage of questions. "The Second Coming." He nodded approvingly. He looked back to Kori, having forgotten she was still standing there. "Ms. Anders, Please take the empty seat in front of Mr. Logan so that we may begin the class."

Kori walked down the row, and quickly sat in the desk, making sure not to speak or look at anyone, and faced forward. Gar tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around just enough to acknowledge him. "Hi, I'm Gar. Nice to meet you." He smiled and she took the hand, replying with her own smile. Mr. Busby walked over to his desk and looked over his role. He looked up in the direction of Kori and Raven, Curiosity visible on his face. "Ms. Roth, Ms. Anders, It appears you are from out of state. Would you please tell me where it is you're coming from?" Raven's eyes went wide. "I'm from Az- I mean Europe." Kori looked equally horrified."I am from Tameran. It is a small country in Europe." He pored over their answers for a moment, then shruged his shoulders. _Weird_, Gar thought looking at the expressions the two of them had.

He sat on the edge of his desk and began to address the class. "Today, I thought we'd start off with something light. I want each of you to compose a short poem to read in front of the class in order to help us get better aquainted. This will give us a better feel for each others' personalities. We will begin presenting in twenty minutes." The class moaned and began to write. Raven put her headphones back on and gazed out the window, allowing her mind to drift.

_I push my fingers into my eyes!_ "Ms.Roth!" A voice cut through her thoughts. Raven snapped back to attention and took off her headphones. "It's time for you to present. I am _most_ interested in what you have for us." Raven walked to the front of the class. " I call this Nightmare." Gar could have sworn that the room got darker as she walked to the front. Her voice seemed darker, more sinister. Gar thought it couldn't possibly belong to the girl who was just sitting there. She began. " Into the graveyard of Immortals I walk..."

Five minutes later she finished the poem. "...Only the bodies beside me for warmth, In the graveyard of the dead Immortal." She looked up from her book. Most of the class sat with their eyes wide and their jaws dropped as if in a state of shock. She looked at Mr. Busby. His role book was partially covering his face, but she could see he had the same look as the students in the class. "Thank you, Ms. Roth. Please be seated." As she walked to her seat, she took one last moment to look at the students faces. They all still wore the same shocked looks. Except one. She recognized him as the student from the office. He gave her an amused smirk and nodded. Raven felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. She quickly sat, turning her head so that he couldn't see her face. she heard a chuckle come from his direction as the bell rang.

The halls were crowded with kids making their way to their next period classes. Kori felt the students pushing her in every direction and almost tripped over someone behind her. "Watch it." Kori recognized the voice. She turned to see Raven standing there with her arms crossed, glaring at her. "Excuse me, student Raven, but I seem to be lost. Could you-" Raven interrupted her. "No, I couldn't. I'm new here as well." Kori stopped listening and began to look up behind Raven. Raven felt a presence behind her and turned around. "You two seem lost. Let me see your schedules and I'll see if I can't help you." It was Vic. Raven stared at him unemotionally. Vic cringed. "No, thank you. I can find it just fine." Kori handed him her schedule as Raven turned to walk away. "You sure? Cus this school is like a maze. Just let me help you." Raven sighed and gave him her schedule. Vic smiled. "Cool. We all have P. E. Just follow me. We're at the field today.

They followed him down the stairs and out the doors leading to the student parking lot. They walked out across it to the football feild. Their was a group of girls sitting outside on the bleachers. Vic handed them back their schedules and walked over to the teacher. He whispered something to her. She nodded and he walked back over to them. "That's coach Griffith. You're on her role." He jumped over the railing and quickly crossed the football feild to the other side, where there were other boys sitting on those bleachers. The coach walked over to them. "Today is a free day. You don't dress out until next week when we recieve the uniforms." she smiled. "I'm Coach Griffith. You can have a seat anywhere on the bleachers."

Raven walked to the opposite end of the bleachers from the class, where she knew she wouldn't be bothered. She pulled out a book and began to read. A few moments later, she heard footsteps coming her way. She buried her face in her book to show she didn't want to be bothered. The footsteps stopped right in front of her.Below her book, she could see pink boots. She sighed and looked up from her book. Kori was standing in front of her with a nervous look on her face. "What?" she asked monotonously. "I was wondering if I may sit here." Raven looked at her. "What's wrong with sitting with them?" Kori looked down at her shoes. "Well, they are merely speaking of shoes and boys and-" Raven interrupted. "So basically, their idiots." Kori smiled and nodded nervously. Raven sighed. "Alright, but keep it down. I'm reading." Kori sat and began to look up at the clouds as Raven began to read.

Gar looked out across the football field. He saw all the girls talking and two sitting out from the others. He knew one to be Raven. A chill ran down his spine and he cringed as he remembered the beutifully poetic yet disturbingly gruesome poem that had come from her only an hour ago. He took out a black wirebound book with purple lizards, stars, and a moon on it. It was full of sketches. He opened the book to a cleam page and took out a pencil. He sat the pad on his lap, clasped his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes as he began to lean back. He thought a moment. A smile slowly crept across his face.

"Hey, Gar, what you up to?" Vic was walking towards him, water bottles in hand. Gar sat up, placing the pencil to the pad, and began scribbling. Vic sat next to him and watched. " I still don't know how you do that." Gar kep his eyes on the pad, a look of concentration on his face. "Do what?" he asked. Vic looked at the pad. Already he was able to make out a castle, stars, and a moon. "That. I could nerver sit and think about something and then just like magic put it on paper." Gar smiled, still focused on the pad. "Anyone can do it. Their just lines on paper. Besides, I'm not even that good."

Vic looked at the pad and then at Gar, surprised by what had just left his friend's mouth. "Gar, if you're not that good, I love to see what average is like." Gar hadn't heard him. He was now completely absorbed into his work. Someone ran up to Vic." Hey guys, come quick! Richard and X are about to fight!" Vic looked up at Gar, who was completely oblivious to the outside world. "Gar!" He looked up. "What?" Vic looked at him impatiently. "Richard and X are about to fight." Gar's expression changed from one of irritation to one of shock. He sat his pad down and stood up. Vic grabbed him wrist and dragged him out of the bleachers and down the stairs to the locker room. Gar was hardly able to keep up. "Slow down, dude!"

"Don't you ever call me that again." Richard spoke very slowly, making sure he got his threat across.Although X stood towering over him by a good five inches, Richard stood his ground, unfazed. He had black spiked hair bold blue eyes. X stood with a smirk on his face. "And what if I do...Dick?" That was all he could stand. Richard grabbed him by the collar and before X could blink, slammed him against a locker. He pulled his fist back and aimed for X's face, prepared to punch. Just as he was about to hit him, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "He's not worth it, man." He reconised the voice as Vic. "But, he..." Victor looked at him, understanding visible in his face. "Just let it go." Robin growled and punched. X flinched. The punch had landed just inches to the right of his face. Richard pulled back his hand and let go. There was a hole in the locker door and it was bent in. He grabbed his backpack and stormed out the door. Victor and Gar following behind him.

The remaining students in the locker room stood and stared at X, His eyes glowing with malice. "What!" he yelled, sounding almost demonic. The other boys in the room jumped and hurriedly continued their previous tasks. "Oh, You're going to pay." He sneered at the door, baring his fangs as he walked out.

**  
And before you ask, that was Slipknot's Duality she was listening to.So... good? Bad? Too short? Review and tell me what you think and I'll reply in my next chapter. Once again, no flames. They are immature and useless. Well, it's only 12:20. Still almost three hours of class. So, I'm off to the cafe. **

**L8r**

**Gothguy**


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